Decision made, thanks everyone!
Last edited:
UMD vs Drexel (full tuition)
- Thread starter Calicha
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2015
- Messages
- 10,952
- Reaction score
- 22,510
What are your career goals?
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2014
- Messages
- 63,099
- Reaction score
- 154,754
Cost difference is important but it looks like you prefer Maryland because family and personal interests. My vote goes to Maryland.
I am not 100% set on a specialty of choice, but I am not interested in family practice or such. I would likely be looking at trying for a more competitive residency, maybe emergency medicine or ENT. I am also very interested in doing some research (and UMD is much better for research).
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2015
- Messages
- 10,952
- Reaction score
- 22,510
I mean 230k is half a million dollars after everything is said and done. I would look at Drexel's home residency programs and see if they have the specialties you are interested in.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2014
- Messages
- 63,099
- Reaction score
- 154,754
I mean it looks like the only reason why OP cares about Drexel is it's free. But Maryland wins out because of support system close by and OP personally likes the school. I think non-financial factors matter here; otherwise 4 years of med school might be a living hell without a financial cost.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2015
- Messages
- 10,952
- Reaction score
- 22,510
I agree , half a million is nothing to sneeze at either . Could put a serious crimp in what sort of specialties and what sort of practice op persues. Not an enviable position to be in.
To put it bluntly, yes. I was least impressed with Drexel out of all the schools at which I interviewed, and I am not a huge fan of Philly either. But as the saying goes, there is no bad MD program in the US, they're all good - some are just better / better fit for the individual. UMD is undoubtedly a better fit. So the question is really: how much should the school itself matter, if the financial difference is so great? At the end of the day, I'll be a doctor coming out of either school - but will my future prospects vary significantly based on which school I attend?? I will certainly be happier at UMD, I can say that much for sure.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2017
- Messages
- 239
- Reaction score
- 259
$200k+interest is a lot of extra debt and I don't see your residency prospects getting a significant bump with UMD. If you were talking about Drexel vs. Top 20/25, that might make some sense, but UMD isn't exactly dripping in prestige. UMD matches well in NE and always has a few superb matches, but match outcomes are determined more by individual performance (step, grades, AOA, research/ECs) and preferences than school (unless you're talking Harvard, JHU, UCSF, etc). The people coming out of UMD who match at top tier residencies worked very hard and their performance carried them, not the UMD school name. The spattering of incredible matches coming out of Drexel are the same type deal (top everything).
It's probably also worth mentioning that UMD is the only state school in MD, so you have very smart and competitive MD residents choosing UMD over private schools for the IS tuition. Their grading scheme also seems a bit on the harsher side.
UMD does have more research, but you are in Philly at Drexel. If you want to find research at Drexel, it's probably there, but you also have the option to do research at any of the many other centers/schools. Research years are becoming increasingly common (sometimes almost necessary) and those can be done at any institution in the country. Same with the summer between M1&M2. If you decide on ENT or something super competitive and get the necessary board scores, no door will be shut to you at Drexel. People from lower ranked medical schools still match to all the most competitive specialties, just not as often to the Harvard/UCSF residencies in these specialties. If you don't get a high step score or fall in love with peds/FM, not having $200k+interest to worry about could be huge.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Messages
- 1,748
- Reaction score
- 2,340
I was accepted to Drexel and wasn't super impressed either. The clinical sites seemed kinda shoddy, and the location was meh. Wasn't crazy about philly either. 125k probably wouldn't be enough to convince me to go there if I was gunning for a top specialty. If you're going to be miserable, don't do it